Pirates hijack chemical tanker off Somalia


NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- A chemical tanker with 30 crew has become the latest ship to be hijacked off Somalia, a commercial shipping expert said Friday.

A French soldier cleans a weapon as the frigate Nivose escorts shipping off the coast of the Djibouti.

The Liberian-flagged Biscaglia is carrying 25 Indians, two Bangladeshis, and three Britons, said Andrew Mwangura, the head of the Kenya Seafarers Association.

The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Ishima and is owned by Winged Foot Shipping in the Marshall Islands, Mwangura said.

Also Friday, pirates released the Greek ship MV Centauri, which was hijacked in September off the coast of Somalia, Mwangura said.

There was no immediate information about the 25 crew members on board the ship when it was taken.

Around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year.

So far this year, pirates have attacked almost 100 vessels off the coast of Somalia coast and successfully hijacked nearly 40, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Center.

The most high-profile hijacking so far came earlier this month, when pirates seized a Saudi oil tanker carrying $100 million worth of oil and a crew of 25, although that attack occurred outside the pirates' normal operational range, 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya. Pirates are still holding the ship.

Another vessel held since September is the Ukrainian MV Farina, which was carrying a cargo of weapons and tanks and a crew of 22.

In an interview provided to CNN this week, a pirate leader claimed attacks on shipping would continue as long as life in Somalia remained desperate.